


Angus: Boy Detective?

by ManiManTheWriter



Series: Taako the Reaper [2]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Found Family, Kidnapping, Multi, i was going to add more chapters but this is a good ending, more tags will be added as i add chapters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 04:47:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 11,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16825435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ManiManTheWriter/pseuds/ManiManTheWriter
Summary: A year after defeating the Hunger Taako has his happy little family, but something is up with Angus. He's disappearing for days at a time and not telling anyone what he's doing. What is our favorite magic boy up to?





	1. Taako's Family

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place a year after Taako the Reaper.

A year after the Hunger arrived Taako was doing great. He had his twin back, he had two hot boyfriends, and he had Angus. He wasn’t sure how to categorize Angus for the most part. The kid still called him sir at times and on those nights when he snuck into his bed and squished himself between Magnus and Taako he swore he heard the kid call him dad.

So Angus was his kid in a sense, but also not. He had a room in his house, Lup’s house, Merle’s house, and even on Davenport’s ship. He was happy to stay wherever even though he seemed to prefer Taako’s, and would be there unless asked to come visit. It was confusing to say the least.

Then there were times when the kid just straight up disappeared for a few days. He wouldn’t spill the beans on that no matter how many times Taako bribed him with his favorite food and sweets. So he needed to figure this out. Right now was one of the times when Angus was out on one of his little adventures.

As he tries to meditate in the living room, too wound up to lay down and sleep, he hears the front door open quietly and then shut with the softest click. Angus was home, but at an odd time. Usually he waited for morning before showing up and running inside to sit down for breakfast.

“Sir you should breathe, it makes it more believable that you’re meditating.”

Taako sighs and opens his eyes, looking at Angus. The boy was dressed just as he’d been when he left and was in piece, so that was something.

“You’re home early kid. Usually I don’t see you until daylight.”

“I got done with what I was doing sir and wanted to sleep in my own bed.”

“And what was it that you were doing Agnes?”

“Taako, I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m very tired.” To seemingly prove his point he yawns widely and smiles tiredly.

“Oh fine, but we’re talking about this on the morning. Now go to bed before you fall over.”

“Goodnight Taako.”

“Night pumpkin.”

Taako watches Angus head to his room, then he gets up and heads to his own bedroom. Maybe he just needed to lay down and relax for a while. Maybe slip into a meditative state or even get some sleep before he got up to make breakfast.

Once he climbs into bed between Kravitz and Magnus he feels a warm arm wrap around him.

“Where’d you go?”

“Tried to go meditate where it was quiet.”

“Don’t snore.”

“Magnus you saw logs. Now go back to sleep.”

He feels Magnus hold him a bit closer before going back to sleep. Then he feels a cold arm wraps around him from the other side. He looks over and makes a face at Kravitz giving him a knowing look, then he rolls over to face Magnus instead.

“Taako…”

“Go back to sleep. It’s late.”

Taako closes his eyes and relaxes a bit when he feels Kravitz scoot closer. Over the past year he’d gotten warmer, but not to normal body temperature yet. Of course laying between Magnus and Kravitz meant Taako was the perfect temperature all night and neither of them complained.

It’s only a few hours to sunrise, and a justifiable time to be awake. So Taako just tries to rest as he waits. It’s only an hour though before he feels the bed dip slightly and feels a small body wiggle its way between himself and Magnus.

He keeps his breathing steady as he Angus wraps a small arm around him and get comfortable. He almost thinks Angus is asleep when he hears the boy speak softly.

“I missed you dad.”

Taako fights the urge to move, to do anything and show Angus that he was awake. Instead he waits until Angus is truly asleep to wrap his arms around the boy and kiss his head. Now he just needed to figure out if he really liked the idea. If he did then he would work on getting Angus to call him that all the time.

Taako keeps Angus close for the rest of the night, petting his hair and rubbing his back slowly. When sunlight starts spilling into the room through the window behind him he carefully gets up and gets dressed for the day, then he heads to the kitchen to start on Angus’s favorite breakfast. He still needed to figure out where Angus was disappearing to after all. No better way to do that than to butter him up.

Once everything is done he goes back to his bedroom and picks up Angus, taking him to his own room and shaking him gently.

“Ango, it’s time to wake up. Breakfast is ready.”

“No sir, it’s still bedtime.”

Taako snorts and detours to the kitchen, letting the smell of food wake up Angus.

“Is it still bedtime?”

“Yes.”

He notices a small mage hand grabbing a pancake off of the stack and he makes one himself to smack it away.

“Either it’s breakfast time or bedtime, it can’t be both.”

“But Taako.” Angus whines and buries his face in Taako’s shoulder.

“No buts pumpkin. Either wake up or I’m taking you to bed.”

Angus whines and leans backwards, going limp. Taako holds him easily.

“You get breakfast in bed all the time though.”

“Yeah, when I make it myself. So until you make breakfast yourself you have to eat out here.”

Angus huffs and grabs onto Taako, pulling himself up.

“Fine.”

Taako chuckles and puts him in his chair.

“I’m gonna wake the other two so make sure to grab plenty before Magnus gets in here.”

Angus nods and starts piling pancakes on his plate, giggling a bit. Taako smiles and heads to his bedroom. He goes over to the bed and shakes Magnus, kissing his temple. He wasn’t often affectionate in the mornings when waking up his boyfriends, but today he was feeling it.

“Mags, wake up. I made pancakes.” There’s a pause and Taako sighs. “I put chocolate in them.”

“I’m up.”

Taako shakes his head and goes around the bed to wake up Kravitz next, rubbing his back and kissing his cheek. He’d learned that shaking Kravitz awake made him jump and lose his skin. While it was tempting on a normal day, today he just wanted to wake him up normally.

“I’m awake love.”

“Good, I made pancakes with chocolate in them. Some without for you of course.”

“You’re so good to me.”

“Don’t you forget it.”  


With that Taako heads to the kitchen, being stopped on his way by Magnus so he could get in a quick kiss before heading out to the table to grab some pancakes. Taako shakes his head and follows him, sitting down and grabbing a few for himself. Kravitz joins them a moment later and grabs his pancakes.

This felt right, and Taako was happy to see his family happy. His family. Now that was something usually reserved for the IPRE crew, but with the addition of Kravitz and Angus this was his own little chunk of family. This was his to keep close and protect.


	2. Magnus and Angus Take a Walk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz have to go on a job, so Magnus tries to get some answers out of Angus.

Magnus knew when there was something going on with Taako, after a century how could he not? Getting him to talk had been tricky before, but now after losing and then regaining his memories it was even harder to get Taako to talk about what was bothering him. At least before he could ask Lup for help and she was right there to do just that. Now though she and Barry were out on some kind of mission for the Raven Queen.

He knew that eventually Taako and Kravitz would have their own missions to go on. Then he would have some time to spend with Angus. That was probably a good thing since Taako had made Angus’s favorite breakfast. Getting your favorite made by Taako meant one of two things. He was feeling happy and you’d caused it, or he was buttering you up. Taako was definitely not happy because of Angus if the way he’d crawled into bed only a few hours before sunrise was anything to go by.

Now he just had to wait for the two of them to get the call that they needed to go. Maybe he could call Lup and have her call them in for backup. Then he could talk to Angus and see what was up. He was just as worried as Taako when it came to Angus disappearing for days only to show up a little worse for wear and act like nothing was wrong. This time seemed to be alright, but he hadn’t seen the kids clothes and he didn’t see any bruises.

As he goes to take another bite of his pancake he blinks and looks down, noticing that he’d eaten all of what was on his plate and he was the only one still at the table.

“Sir, are you alright?”

“I’m fine Ango, just lost in my thoughts is all.”

Magnus gets up and grabs his plate, taking it to the sink and starting on the dishes. It had taken a while to convince Taako that he didn’t need to cook and clean, but now Taako left the dishes and whatever he’d used to cook with for Magnus to clean up. Kravitz had happily taken on keeping the rest of the house clean after seeing how Magnus and Taako just liked to leave things wherever they felt like.

“Magnus, you’ve been washing that plate a long time.”

He snaps out of it again and puts the plate aside to dry.

“Sorry kiddo, just really stuck on this one.”

“What are you thinking about?”

“Our little family, how different is from how things used to be.”

“Is… Is that a bad thing or a good thing?”

“It’s a good thing. Definitely a good thing. Especially with you around Ango. We definitely need some fresh faces around the seven of us.”

“I would think so sir. Especially since your faces never changed for so long.”

“That’s exactly why. I think that’s also why none of us live together unless there was a romantic reason.”

“Even Taako and Lup?”

“Yeah, even them. But you've seen how much Lup and Barry visit. They even spend time together on jobs.”

“That's true. They missed each other a whole lot.”

“Yeah they did. So that's why they live close, but not with us.”

“That makes sense.”

“Alright, new topic. Did Taako and Kravitz head off on a new mission?”

“Yep! They said they left you a note in your room for when you were done spacing out. Taako's words not mine.”

“Well then once I'm done here how about we go walk a few of the dogs? I'm sure they'd love it.”

“That sounds great!”

Magnus smiles and finishes up with the dishes, drying his hands. Once that's done he grabs a few leashes, handing one to Angus.

“So, which dog are you taking?”

“Um… Raven!”

Raven was a small black puppy that Angus had brought back one day and named after the Raven Queen. Taako had thought it was hilarious while Kravitz tried to get him to change it to no avail. The name was set.

“Good choice. I think I'll walk…”

“You should walk Fish! She hasn’t had a turn in a while.”

“That’s a very good point Ango. Alright, let’s go get Raven and Fish.”

Magnus leads Angus outside and over to the big fenced in area where they kept the dogs at times. For now it was nice enough outside that they could use the fresh air. It was plenty big for the amount of dogs there and Magnus had gotten Taako to set up a feeding system with a bit of magic so it only dropped food at certain times. He didn’t want the dogs to get fat and sick.

“Raven!”

Magnus watches Angus go inside and follows him in. The dogs had been taught not to jump up for the most part but there were a couple that didn’t fully understand the concept. Of course he didn’t have to worry about Raven. Raven was as tall as Angus and Magnus could swear he was actually a wolf. He had no idea where the dog had come from, what breed he was, or even why he was so loyal to Angus. But since Angus had brought him home one day the dog had been nothing but loving and caring with the boy.

“Fish, come here girl.”

Magnus gets the leash on Fish and makes sure Angus had the leash on Raven properly. Then he heads out, making sure the gate is closed securely behind him.

“So where are we headed sir?”

“I think to the park. We can take the path around it and come back. That’s a good amount of exercise for the dogs and us. You up for it?”

“Yeah! If I get tired I bet Raven will let me ride him for a bit.”

“I bet he could do it easily too.”

With that the two of them head to the park. There were plenty of people around and some with dogs. Magnus could see Fish was excited to be out and about but playing was for later. He needed to know what was up with Angus disappearing all the time.

Before he can open his mouth and properly ask the question Angus speaks up.

“Magnus I know you’re worried about me, but I’m fine.”

“Ango, you disappearing for days on end is not fine.”

“I come back.”

“You come back roughed up with torn clothes. Yeah, I saw your clothes. You’re getting good at magic kiddo, but you’re not that good. Prestidigitation only lasts so long and you’ve only got so many slots.”

“I’m a growing boy sir. I play outside and my clothes get messed up, it happens all the time.”

“Angus you hate playing rough. You don’t even play rough with the dogs.”

“I might hurt them.”

“Angus you’re seven.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Well it’s either you talk about this with me or Taako butters you up some more and then he grills you. I’m trying to be nice about this.”

“Well you’re not being nice. I said I don’t want to talk about this.”

“Angus-”

“I’m going home.”

Magnus goes on his walk with Fish since he needed it, making sure to call Taako. Of course he doesn’t answer so he just leaves him a message telling him what’s up. When he gets back home he puts Fish back in the pen but he doesn’t notice Raven. So he heads inside, looking around for Angus and Raven. Quietly he opens the boy’s door, and then quickly closes it.

What he’d seen… it couldn’t be possible. No way.  



	3. Angus and His Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz go to help Magnus out with Angus, but they find something interesting when they get home.

Taako was busy with his job, but he was having a bit of fun with it as he went. Once it’s all over he goes over to Kravitz, grabbing a few souls as he goes. It had taken all four of them to take down this big cult, but thankfully it was all over.

“Hey handsome. Looks like we got them all.”

“If I’m counting correctly we did. Oh, your stone is blinking Taako.”

Taako grabs it and checks it out, playing the message from Magnus.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“Hachi machi, this is why we all need to talk about when we’re gonna talk to Angus. So we can coordinate!”

Lup looks over.

“You having troubles with your boy Taako?”

“Yeah… And Magnus is not making anything better.”

“Why don’t you two head back? Barry and I can round up these souls and do the paperwork. You guys need to talk to Angus.”

“Thanks Lulu, we’ll see you later.”

Taako hands the souls over to Lup as Kravitz cuts a rift to their house. They step through and what they find is confusing.

Angus had his secrets. He may only be seven but he still had them. Things he couldn’t tell his guardians. Things that could ruin everything. So when he gets home from the botched walk he goes to his room, grabs a few things, and then turns to Raven.

“Raven, stay. I need to continue this. Don’t let them in my room, no matter what. Do whatever it takes.”

Angus pets his dog and then leaves, heading out. He needed to continue this so it could be done and over. Then maybe he could be a normal boy again. One with three dads who he loved very much.

“Taako! Krav! Help me out here!”

Magnus was pinned down in the living room, by what appeared to be a skeletal dog. Both reapers were very well shocked. Kravitz heads over to try and coax the dog off as Taako checks his book.

“Maggie did you try and bring a dead dog back to life?”

“No! It was in Angus’s room! I thought I was seeing things at first and when I checked again it pinned me!”

Kravitz looks at Taako.

“Well… He’s not here. So he didn’t do this. So who sent a skeletal dog after Angus?”

“Why would someone send a skeletal dog after Angus? And where is he?”

“Very good questions Kravitz. Can we get the dog off me first?!”

Taako shakes his head and goes into the kitchen. He grabs a dog treat and comes back, waving it around.

“Taako dear I don’t think-”

“Hey, it’s worth a shot.”

Taako whistles and waves the dog treat. After a moment the dog steps off Magnus and goes over to Taako, sitting down. Then he grows back his skin, showing the dog to be Raven.

“Raven?! How- Does Angus have a reaper dog?!”

Kravitz puts his head in his hands. 

“That’s why the dog’s name is Raven. He’s from the Raven Queen…”

“Are you telling me Angus got a gift from the Raven Queen in the form of a reaper dog?! Why the fuck would she think that’s a good idea? Does Angus even know?!”

“Taako, calm down. I’m sure she had a good reason.”

“She better have a damn good one for giving my son something like this.”

Taako cuts a rift into the Astral Plane and goes through, shutting it behind him. Magnus looks at Kravitz after he’s gone.

“Did he?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.”

Magnus gets up and brushes himself off.

“So why were you checking Angus’s room?”

“I was trying to see if he was there.”

“And Raven stopped you?”

“Yeah, it was weird. Kinda scared me actually. Now let’s go see what’s up.”

Magnus starts towards the boy’s bedroom only to walk into a rift that suddenly appears. He walks out of another one that opens up as far away from Angus’s room as possible but still be in the house. He stares at Raven and then tries to go through the portal he’d come out of, only to walk into the fridge.

“Magnus I don’t think just walking in is going to work. Let me try.”

Kravitz cuts a rift into Angus’s room, or he tries. The other rift just opens up outside. He tries again, this time it goes to the roof. On his third try it just opens up behind him.

“Yeah I don’t think that’s going to work either. I think he’s redirecting them.”

“That… That shouldn’t happen. What’s going on here?”

“Maybe we should talk to the Raven Queen.”

“Good idea.”

Kravitz cuts a rift to the Astral Plane, relieved when it works. He watches curiously as Raven heads through, but he follows the dog. Magnus tries to head to Angus’s room only to fall into a rift in the floor, dropping him into the Astral Plane beside Kravitz. He’s met with the sound of Taako yelling.

“You can’t just give a seven year old an undead dog! Why didn’t you tell us?! He doesn’t need to be seeing stuff like that! He gets freaked out when I go skeleton, I bet he’d freak out when it’s his dog! Did you even tell him?!”

**_‘Taako, I did not just give Raven to Angus. Angus asked for a dog, and I obliged. Raven keeps an eye on him, that’s his job.’_ **

“That’s my job! I’m his dad!”

**_‘Taako.’_ **

“He is seven years old!”

**_‘If you are going to keep this up then I shall send you home.’_ **

“Fine, do it! I have to go look for Angus anyway.”

Kravitz heads over and wraps an arm around Taako.

“Taako, enough. You need to calm down.”

“Get off of me. Did you know about this?”

“What? Of course not! I was just as shocked as you are. I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“Good, because I would have kicked your ass.”

“I know love. Now, we should head home.”

“No, I want to know where Angus is. She has to know something.”

“Taako unless he’s dead none of us have no idea where he is. You know that.”

Magnus goes over to the two.

“Taako, what about that tracking spell?”

“What?”

“The one Lup and Barry made to track down the light? You could change it up and have it find Angus.”

“I don’t know if I could work it to do that.”

“Twenty bucks says you could.”

“Magnus…”

“Fifty bucks.”

“‘Fine, you’re on.”

Taako cuts a portal to the house and goes through, starting to work on the spell. Magnus follows him through, talking with him about it. Kravitz stays behind, letting the portal close.

“My Queen, promise me that you don’t know anything about where Angus is.”

**_‘Unfortunately Kravitz, I can’t.’_ **

“Then tell me where he is.”

**_‘I can’t do that either.’_ **

“You’re being cryptic on purpose.”

With that Kravitz leaves, going home. The Raven Queen looks off to the side.

**_‘They are worried about you.’_ **

“I know ma’am, but I have a job to do. Just like them.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter I got a very wonderful comment by Diamond Fox on what was possibly going on and I was so tempted to answer and say what was going on but I can't just yet. So if you're reading this Diamond Fox I adored that comment and maybe one day I'll write that fic! If you ever want to get in touch with me let me know!


	4. Searching For Angus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako finally puts that spell to use and things get even weirder.

Taako spends a day working on fixing the spell to track Angus. At one point he manages to sneak into Angus’s room and grab something of his for the spell. Putting it back would be a bit trickier but he would worry about that after he’d found Angus. For now he was just about done with his spell.

“Alright nerds, I think I’ve got it.”

Taako heads outside, Magnus and Kravitz following.

“You’re sure about this?”

“I got it Mags. Now shut your mouth and let me concentrate.”

Magnus closes his mouth, deciding not to ask his question. He wanted this to work.

“Ok, here goes nothing.”

Taako casts the spell and watches the line creep forward, only to stop a few feet away and then fade. He slumps to his knees and just watches the line fade.

“Taako?”

“He’s just… He’s just gone! Like he disappeared right there! No spell would be able to let him do that! Especially not any he would know! What the fuck?!”

Magnus goes over to Taako and helps him up, rubbing his back. Kravitz stands next to them and looks at where the line used to be.

“You’re sure nothing could make his trail stop like that?”

“Not any spells I know. I could ask Barry but I think he’d be stumped too.”

“Magnus, take Taako inside. I’m gonna get Barry.”

Kravitz cuts a rift into Barry’s living room and steps through.

“Hey bone man, what’s up?”

He looks over at Lup.

“Is Barry here? Taako needs his help with a spell.”

“Yeah, let me go wake him up.”

Lup heads out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. A few minutes later she comes back with Barry.

“What’s up Kravitz?”

“Come on, I need to show you something.”

He heads back through the rift and shuts it after Barry is through.

“Ok…”

“Taako cast a tracking spell, the one you made while on the Starblaster. He’d changed it so it could track Angus, but it stopped right here. Got any ideas on why that would be?”

“Uh… Well if Taako could cast it again I’d be willing to check it out and test some things. Hopefully it’s something I can figure out.”

“Alright, I’ll go get him.”

Kravitz heads inside and goes over to Taako who was sitting in the kitchen.

“Hey Krav.”

“Hey… Barry’s outside. He wanted to know if you could cast the spell again so he could see and try to work out what’s going on.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

Taako gets up and Kravitz wraps an arm around him, leading him outside.

“Hey Taako. I’m gonna do what I can, ok? Angus should be at home for sure.”

“No doubt.”

Taako casts the spell again and Barry watches the line glide along and then stop like it had hit a barrier.

“Huh…”

“What?”

“Well… That spell is supposed to go through anything. Doors, walls, anything. Whatever path Angus went. So it just stopping for no reason is… It’s something powerful. Not just any ordinary spell. Maybe… Maybe not even a spell at all.”

“What do you mean Barold?”

“I mean… Oh fuck I hope I’m wrong about this.”

Barry cuts a portal to the Astral Plane and watches the line go through.

“No! That’s not possible! How would he even get there without one of us?!”

“I don’t know Taako, but you and I both know that spell is never wrong.”

“Oh he has a lot of explaining to do and so does the Raven Queen.”

Taako heads through the portal and follows the line. Now he was really pissed off and ready to murder if he didn’t get any answers soon.

Angus hated lying to his guardians, but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them too much. Oh now he sounded like Lucretia. Maybe he should tell them after all. But what could he say? Taako, Magnus, Kravitz, I’m keeping the balance of fate in check for Istus? No, that wouldn’t work. Oh he was going to be in so much trouble when they found out.

As he’s thinking he sees a red line coming his way and he freezes. It was coming from the spot where his portal had just closed. Someone was trying to track him. Quickly he starts hopping through portals, going all over the place to try and lose the red line. It doesn’t work, but at least whoever was following him would have a hard time following the jumbled mess he left behind.

Taako groans loudly and kicks a rock, sending it flying. This was hopeless. Angus had obviously caught on and had evaded them very well. He was too smart for his own good. With that Taako ends the spell and sighs.

“He’s not gonna talk to us. Why would he? He’s obviously trying to get away from us so he doesn’t want to talk.”

“Then how are we going to figure this out? Taako who knows what he’s getting himself into.”

“Magnus it can’t be any worse than the things we’ve done. So let’s go home. I’ve got something to do. Barry, I need to borrow a few of your books.”

“Uh… Sure? Which ones?”

Taako gives Barry a look.

“I don’t know what you’re looking at me for.”

Taako keeps his stare going.

“Alright, fine. I’ll bring them over.”

“Good idea.”

Taako cuts a rift into the living room and goes through. He hits something and stops. Kravitz follows through and hits the same barrier. Magnus goes through the barrier that’s stopping them but hits a different barrier.

“Ow, what the hell?!”

Angus comes into the room, holding chalk in one hand and his wand in another. Raven follows and sits beside him, dropping his flesh and fur to be a skeleton. Angus pats him on the head and looks at the three of them

“Angus, let us out of this.”

“I can’t do that Taako. I need the three of you to listen and not do anything rash, so this needs to be done.”


	5. Angus Talks to His Family (Or He Tries At Least)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus tries to talk to his three parents, but it's not that simple as he finds out.

Angus grabs a nearby chair and moves it in front of the three of them, then he sits down in it. He was trying to think of the best way to explain himself and his situation. When Raven nudges him he pats the dogs skull and then looks at the three men who were raising him. They deserved the truth, even if it was hard for him to give it to them.

“I don’t know where to start sirs. So I guess just ask away and I’ll answer.”

“Ok I’ve got a question pumpkin. How did you know how to make these barriers?”

“Barry leaves his books out all the time sir. You of all people should know that.”

“Fair point. Next question. How did you make these barriers? This is beyond your skill level.”

“Well, it used to be. I uh… I’ve recently become more powerful. Wow that sounds bad. I’m not a necromancer sirs. Although with Raven here next to me I must look like a liar.”

Kravitz puts a hand on the barrier.

“We know you aren’t a necromancer Angus. The Raven Queen told us that she gave Raven to you. I just want to know why you didn’t tell us.”

“Um… Well I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t sure how to. It kinda ties into a really big thing that I’m hoping you’ll ask more about.”

Magnus sits down.

“Ango are you cursed? Can you not talk about this unless asked?”

“No Magnus, I’m not cursed. That’s silly. I just don’t… I don’t know how to explain it yet.”

“So you’re buying time.”

“Pretty much sir.”

“That’s fair. So when you go out, is it for the Raven Queen?”

“No, not at all.”

“Is it for another god?”

“Yes.”

Taako throws his hands up.

“I’m gonna have to kill a god, I just knew it.”

“Taako you’re not going to do that.”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do Angus.”

“Well sir I’d like to see you try, once you get out of that barrier that is.”

Angus crosses his arms and sits back. He had gained plenty of sass being around Taako and Lup, so he could easily do this and was prepared to wait Taako out.

“Angus don’t you tempt me. You know the things I’ve done.”

“You’re right sir, and I know that you just can’t do some things. Like get out of a barrier made by a seven year old. So please go back to asking questions instead of threatening me and who I’m working for.”

“And who are you working for exactly?”

“Nice try. I’m seven, not stupid.”

“You said you wanted us to ask questions, so I’m asking.”

“This was a bad idea. We can try again later.”

Angus gets up and rubs away the markings on the floor so Magnus can get out, then he disappears. Magnus looks around and then rubs out the markings so Taako and Kravitz could get out. When Taako summons his scythe Kravitz grabs his wrist gently.

“Love I know you want to go hunting around for whoever has Angus employed, but think about it. When he’s come home has he ever been actually hurt? Whichever god it is, they care about him and make sure he’s not hurt.”

“He’s seven Kravitz. He doesn’t need to be doing stuff like we do.”

“Angus is a smart boy Taako. He wouldn’t go into this if he thought he couldn’t handle it.”

Magnus goes over to Taako and gently pulls him into a hug.

“Taako he’s not us. He’s actually got some common sense. You’ve seen how responsible he is. He’ll be fine.”

“Alright… Thanks you two.”

Magnus grins and pulls Kravitz into the hug. Kravitz squeezes Taako gently and takes his hat, tossing it onto a chair so he can kiss his head. Taako gives Kravitz a disgruntled noise but he doesn’t move away. He needed this more than he wanted to admit.

Angus watches his parents from his spot on Raven’s back. All he’d done was turn invisible and climb onto his dog’s back so he wouldn’t be tripped over. He hated to make them worry, but he was glad that they trusted him and knew he was capable. Besides, it wouldn’t be long until he was done anyway. This stuff was just to prove himself. Once he was done he could stop until he was an adult.

But for now he still had things to do. So he lets himself go, being pulled by the call of his god. When he finds himself in front of Her he smiles and bows a bit.

“Hello ma’am.”

_ ‘Hello Angus. Is everything still alright? I hope you haven’t changed your mind.’ _

“Yes, I just had to talk with my parents. I’m sure you saw it didn’t go too well, but I’ll try again later. For now I’d like to get onto that next job you have for me. I want to do this.”

_ ‘As you wish Angus. Once this is done this will be your last, so do your best. I believe in you.’ _

“Thank you.”

With that Angus lets Her move him to where he needs to be. Then he sets off, going to work. If he wanted to prove himself he needed to get this done and do it well. Sure he could have a job with the Raven Queen, but it was almost guaranteed. Four of his family members worked for her so he could get that job easily. He didn’t want the easy to get job. He wanted one he had to work for.

Even if working for it meant he worried his dad’s. He couldn’t get past that thought, but he was almost done. One last mission and he could be a normal boy with a normal childhood again. So he shakes his head to clear it and gets back to his mission. This needed a clear head if he wanted to make sure he didn’t ruin his clothes and worry his dad’s even more. They were finally calming down after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So can anyone remember who Angus is talking to without looking back at Taako the Reaper?


	6. Angus Gets Kidnapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus is on another mission from his God, but things go sideways in a major way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit late because I hadn't finished it. I had written a full chapter but I decided to change it last minute.

Taako ends up back in the kitchen after Angus leaves, cooking up a storm. He wanted to have all of his favorite foods here even if it would take a few days for him to come home. Then maybe he would feel up to talking a bit more. If that had ever worked before he certainly didn’t remember it. Angus was good at keeping secrets when he truly wanted to be. It irritated Taako to no end and he knew trying to pry the truth from him was only going to get sass that he’d taught the kid over the past year.

If only he could get back the kid who crawled into his bed and called him dad while he thought he was the only one awake. He wanted to hold that boy close and never let him go. But Angus wasn’t just one idea, he was multidimensional just like everyone else. So getting that side of him to come out would take some time.

After feeling eyes on him again Taako sends a glare in the direction of the living room. Kravitz and Magnus were taking turns watching him and he knew it. He hated it too, more than anything.

“Would you two knock it off before I come over there and knock your heads off? I’m tired of the staring.”

“We’re worried about you Taako.”

“Worry about me some other way Mags. Before I send you to the Astral Plane way too early.”

“Fine.”

Taako watches Magnus get up and leave the room. With a sigh he goes back to cooking.

“Kravitz I will come over there and I will make it to where you can’t come into the house anymore.”

“Taako I just want to help.”

“Last time you helped you nearly burnt the house down. Go help Magnus with whatever he’s doing.”

A few hours later Taako finds himself in bed, before he’s suddenly up and pulling on some pants as he rushes downstairs.

“You fuckers distracted me and made me burn the fucking cookies! I hope you’re happy!”

He hears a loud happy laugh from Magnus and he can’t help but smile a little bit. So he pulls out what is now charcoal from the oven and tosses it into the trash can to get rid of later. Then he starts making new cookies. As he starts on it he looks over as he spots Raven sitting and staring at him.

“And what do you want? You’ve been a bad dog so you don’t get any treats from me.”

Taako gets back to making cookies, ignoring Raven. Once the cookies are in the oven he sits at the table and sighs. He had to figure out how to talk to Angus without ruining things again. He wanted the kid to trust him enough to talk to him about anything.

As he’s thinking he notices his stone going off, so answers it.

“Hey, it’s Taako from TV. What’s up?”

“Dad… I need help.”

“Angus? Angus what’s wrong? Where are you?”

“I-I’m in Rockport. Someone’s following me and he tried to grab me. I’m scared.”

“Find a Bodett kiddo and hide out there. I’m coming to get you.”

“Dad… I’m sorry about not telling you. And trapping you in the living room.”

“We can talk about that later Pumpkin. Just stay safe. I’ll be there in just a bit. I gotta hang up now, ok? I’ll call you as soon as I’m in Rockport.”

Taako hangs up and then gets up, turning off the stove and then rushing upstairs.

“Mags, Krav, wake up. Angus is in trouble and he needs us right now.”

Magnus is up quickly and pulling on clothes. He grabs his axe and puts it on his back. Kravitz gets up and forms clothes on himself.

“How do you know Ango needs us Taako?”

“He called, said someone was following him and tried to nab him. He’s hopefully hiding out with the nearest Bodett’s like I told him.”

“He’s in Rockport? How the hell did he get there?”

“Whichever god he’s working for, obviously.”

Taako cuts them a portal and steps through. Once the other two are through he drops the portal and calls Angus.

“Come on pumpkin, pick up. Let me know you’re alright.”

What he hears on the other end is not Angus.

“Well hello there. Taako from TV, right? I’ve got something of yours. Say hello Angus.”

“Taako help!”

“It took some doing but I know who he’s working for and now I’ve got him trapped. Istus should take better care of her little minions.”

Taako takes a breath.

“My man if you know me then you know exactly what I can do and who I need to call to kick your ass.”

“Oh I do know, which is why I’ve got everything set up here just right so you can’t touch me. Not you, not your other reaper buddies, not Magnus, Davenport, Lucretia, or Merle. You can’t touch me Taako.”

“Well we’ll just see about that, won’t we.”

Taako hangs up.

Angus sits down calmly as he watches his kidnapper toss his stone aside.

“You should be afraid sir. You see, the story didn’t tell you everything about my dad.”

“Oh I’m scared, can’t you see me shaking in my boots?”

“Go ahead and laugh, but when the Raven Queen has your soul we’ll see who’s laughing.”

Angus pulls five black feathers out of his pocket and puts them on the ground in front of him. Time to make Taako proud with some theatrics. If he couldn’t get out, then he would spook his kidnapper into making mistakes.

“You can’t contact anyone from here kid.”

“Who said I’m contacting someone? I’m just calling my dog is all.” Angus puts his hands over the feathers and casts Minor Illusion to make the feathers appear to catch fire and make the fake flames look black. Once that’s done he casts Prestidigitation to make the feathers look like ash. He still had some power that didn’t come from a god after all. “Come find me Raven.”


	7. On the Search For Angus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and his family are looking for Angus. Angus is messing with his kidnapper.

Taako knew that as soon as he found Angus his kidnapper was going to have hell to pay, but they had to play this smart. Whoever it was had made sure to account for everyone, even Davenport who was still out at sea. This was going to be tricky and he had no idea how this was going to work. All he knew is that he’d called dibs on the fucker’s soul.

At the moment he was back at home, planning things out with Barry. He hated how much it reminded him of the last time they were like this. It had only been seven years ago after all. Any time Barry started addressing him with a “So Taako” it made him jump a bit. He could see that Barry was having a hard time with it too when he cringed every time he said it.

“What is up with you two? You’re just kinda vaguely pointing to things and haven’t said a word in like half an hour.”

Taako looks over at Lup and then at Barry.

“You get to handle this one Bluejeans. You were the one who went all crazy.”

“Hey in my defense, it worked.”

“Guys, what worked?”

Taako nudges Barry over to Lup as he continues to work. When he hears a knock on the door he turns to get it but stops as Magnus heads over to grab it. This hadn’t been easy on him either. He’s been pacing around ever since they got back, itching to do something that wasn’t planning.

“Mags who’s at the door?”

No answer.

“Magnus, who’s at the door my dude?”

“It’s… Come on in Lucretia.”

Taako stops as he watches Lucretia come inside. Even now he had a hard time mentally linking this older woman to the Lucretia he remembered.

“I know you all don’t want me here… But I just got this and thought I should bring it here.”

Lucretia brings a letter over to Taako. He takes it and reads it over. Then he pins it up on the board.

“So the fucker is toying with us, that’s nice. Barry if you could go get Merle that’d be great. Lulu, go get Dav. Force him into a port or just to straight up drop the anchor and come with you if you have to. We all have to be here for this.”

Taako watches the two leave without a word and then he sits down, looking the board over. He doesn’t react as Lucretia sits next to him.

“Did he say why he kidnapped Angus?”

“No, not at all. First Angus hides that he’s working for Istus, now he’s been kidnapped for some reason that only he might know. I’m tired of the secrets already.”

“Have you checked out his room?”

“Tried, but Raven kept forcing me back out. I need to get in there and of course Angus’s undead dog is stopping me.”

“Undead- How?”

“A gift from the Raven Queen. Angus seems to be very popular with the gods of this plane. Another oddity about him.”

“So he fits in with the rest of us.”

“Yeah, he sure does.”

“Angus McDonald.”

“Ominous Kidnapper.”

“Ah, some of that wit you’ve picked up from the Taaco twins I see.”

“Well I do live with one on a regular basis. So yeah.”

Angus sits cross legged on the floor, sitting up as straight as he can and he has been for a good while. He can tell it’s kind of unnerving for his kidnapper because he hasn’t moved from that spot since his trick with the feathers. Feathers that he put back in his pocket before the spell on them could wear off.

“Don’t get smart with me boy.”

“Oh no, the scary adult voice. I’ve never heard that one before. Please sir, it’s so scary. Don’t use it again.”

“You are very much testing my patience.”

“You are very much a pain in my ass. But I was trying to be nice.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth for a six year old.”

“I’m seven. If you’re going to do a lot of research on someone before kidnapping them then at least make sure to get their age right. That would be like if I said you were eighty.”

Angus watches his kidnapper pause in his motion for only a second before continuing. So this definitely wasn’t a human. The hood and cloak made it hard to tell. He wasn’t short so not a dwarf or gnome. Not a big enough figure to be an orc. Could be a elf, or a half elf.

“Yes, I suppose it would. My point still stands, you’ve got a smart mouth for a baby.”

Definitely an elf. Elves always considered humans babies until they were at least thirty.

“So, what is an elf doing kidnapping the one child who has seven aliens and at least three gods watching over him?”

Another pause, this one much longer.

“Who said I was an elf?”

“Odd speech patterns, general build, calling me a baby, not liking if I would say you’re eighty. So you’re a young elf at that. Maybe one hundred and twenty. One hundred and thirty at most. Seems like you might be the baby here.”

“Shut up! I will kill you before you can say another word!”

“If you didn’t need me alive you would have killed me a long time ago. Whatever you’re trying to do isn’t going to work with me dead. Yes, I noticed the odd markings on the floor and I know they’re not for barriers. Don’t worry, I’ll figure it out eventually and stop you.”

“You are a smartass baby who’s going to die a nobody just like you were born a nobody and left in the woods to die alone.”

“Harsh words for someone who must have had the same fate.”

“SHUT UP YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

“MAKE ME!”

The elf starts towards him and Angus doesn’t even react. Except that the Angus sitting on the floor wasn’t Angus at all.


	8. Angus Has Some Fun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus kidnaps his kidnapper has some fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angus gets very sassy in this chapter and I had so much fun writing it. I laughed every time I stopped because it was just so ridiculous.

Taako looks at his family all together and sighs. He takes off his hat and sets it aside. He needed to be focusing and not playing with it like he usually did in serious situations.

“Alright, we know Angus was kidnapped and we know that even after the Story this kidnapper kept an eye on us and him. He knows more about us than the average schmuck and knows more about Angus than he should. He’s ready for us to come attack him, he’s counting on it. So what do we do?”

Everyone just looks at each other for a moment before giving some shrugs. He groans and rubs his face.

“We were kinda good at this shit like eight years ago. How did we all forget how to do this that easily? Davenport would you like to try? You’re still technically the captain after all.”

“No, you’re doing a fine job Taako. It’s just… There’s really nothing we can do. He’s expecting us and everything we can throw at him. We don’t even know where Angus is being held.”

“Yeah, but he’s a baby. We can’t just leave him out there on his own.”

Angus moves around his kidnapper and kicks him in the ass, forcing him through the barrier as he slips out. Then he quickly changes one rune to have it keep back elves rather than humans.

“This is all really basic. Also, you fell for the oldest illusion trick in the book. So, what are you trying to pull here?”

“Hey! Get back here you little brat! Let me out of here!”

“Yeah, because I’ll just do that.”

“Taako, he’s seven.”

“Yeah, that’s still a baby Mags.”

“He’s a human, not an elf. Hell at seven I was getting into fights and learning how to throw a punch properly.”

“Let’s see here. Basic necromancy book, basic necromancy book, basic necromancy book, book of necromancy spells. Beginner huh? I learned all of this six months ago.”

“What the hell are you? No way are you human.”

“Taako he’s a smart seven year old with seven guardians that aren’t even from this planar system and on that used to live in the Astral Plane. I bet he’s teaching his kidnapper proper etiquette.”

“Aw, your first ritualistic circle. So you started in this room huh?”

“That’s not my first circle!”

“Oh… My bad. I thought it was. Well I’ve seen worse.”

“Don’t start with me Bluejeans, I don’t want to hear it from you.”

“Ko he’s right. Angus is a smart little dude. I bet he’s already working on a plan to get out of there.”

“Ah, here it is. Your plans all nicely written out. I knew you had to have it somewhere. Most newbies do.”

“Leave that alone you little freak!”

“Now that wasn’t very nice.”

“Taako, what about that tracking spell? We could at least figure out where he is and then come up with a strategy then.”

“Krav you’re a genius.”

  
  


“Wow, this is the worst thing I’ve ever read and it’s full of so many errors.”

“Put that down!”

“Here, I’ll fix it for you.” Angus lights the paper on fire and drops it. “Much better.”

Taako casts the spell and the eight of them follow it along until they find a cave outside of Rockport. They all stop outside and ready up. Then they listen in to see what they can hear.

“You… I worked hard on that!”

“I’d say next time work harder, but there won’t be a next time.”

“What do you mean?”

“My family is here to get me now. This was fun, but I’d rather not do it again.”

Angus grabs the thread coming at him and gives it a pull.

Taako watches the thread curiously and holds a hand up before slipping inside. What he finds makes him laugh. Angus turns around and smiles.

“Dad!”

“Come here Ango.”

Angus rushes over and hugs Taako, nuzzling him. Taako holds Angus back and looks towards the mouth of the cave.

“Come on chucklefucks, the coast is clear!”

Everyone files in and Lup starts laughing, high fiving Angus and going over to the barrier.

“Be careful aunt Lup. I changed the rune to keep elves inside so if you go in you can’t come back out until the barrier is broken.”

“Well look at that, good job squirt.”

Barry looks around at everything and sighs, shaking his head.

“Amateur.”

“That’s what I was thinking sir! I could tell by the set up alone he wasn’t very good at this but the circle in the next room is just awful.”

Taako glare at Barry and then looks at Angus.

“No more necromancy books for you. I don’t need a little necromancer in my house.”

“Oh don’t worry dad, I don’t want to be a necromancer.”

“Good, because then I’d have to reap you.”

Angus looks over at the barrier and steps over to it. The elf inside was in shock for sure.

“Can none of you see what he is? Because whatever that thing is, it’s not human. I doubt he’s even a kid.”

“Now that’s enough out of you. Be quiet.”

Everyone pauses as the elf’s voice becomes muffled and then goes quiet. Angus quickly takes a step off to the side and smiles sheepishly. He was in it now and he needed to go before anyone could start asking him questions. He’d lied enough as it was.

“Well you guys have got this right? Greatseeyoulaterloveyoubye!”

Taako goes to grab Angus but he disappears. Then he looks at the others. Once that’s done he looks at the captive elf. This kid was the only one with any possible answers and he was determined to get them if he had to rip them out of his head.

“I want answers, now. What do you know?”

“Whatever that thing is, it’s no human and it’s no kid.”

“Don’t call Angus an it!”

“Well it’s not normal! Something is up and you should be worried!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Angus may or may not be human. That remains to be seen.


	9. New Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn some new information about Angus, nothing he didn't know himself of course.

Angus looks around and then up at Istus, who was looking at him with an amused expression. This should be interesting.

“Hello Istus.”

_ ‘Hello Angus. Still not used to your new information I see.’ _

“Oh… I’m sorry. It’s just… It’s a lot to think about.”

_ ‘I know, and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to but it was safer for you not to know.’ _

“I understand, and I’m not mad. I just… What happened? Why was I in those woods? You said that you would tell me when I was done with my job. It’s finished.”

_ ‘You were very bad at acting as a poor kidnapped boy.’ _

“Now hold on, take a step back. What are you trying to say right now?”

Taako was watching this young elf, trying to make sense of what was being told to him.

“You said you found him in the woods a year ago, right? He didn’t give you a last name, told you that’s where he lived, and you never pushed him on that. Never thought to try and find his family? Never went to the nearest town and asked if anyone lost a boy?”

“I remembered what it was like living on the streets. I didn’t want to push it.”

“Well he has a last name, but not because he was born with it.”

“I know, but it was just too easy. He was barely an adult elf and very bad at what he was doing.”

_ ‘Well you were still technically saved, so I suppose I can take that as a success.’ _

“Thank you! So, will you tell me now?”

“So he was adopted, big deal. With the wars going on a lot of kids were out of homes.”

“But no one knows where he came from. He just suddenly appeared on the doorstep of the McDonald family.”

_ ‘It is a very long story Angus.’ _

“I like long stories!”

_ ‘Very well. Get comfortable and I’ll tell you everything I know.’ _

Angus sits down and smiles, trying not to bounce. He was finally going to learn about his past.

“Ok, his mom couldn’t keep him and dropped him off at the doorstep of a wealthy family. I’d do the same.”

“But the McDonald’s themselves swear up and down he’s blood related. Their neighbors remember when he was left there but the McDonald’s will give you a whole story on how they were so excited to have a baby boy because Mrs McDonald was said to be infertile.”

“So they didn’t want him to know. You’re just sounding more and more like a stalker.”

“Mrs McDonald will give a story of the day she went into labor and had that kid, and her story has never changed. Either she’s deluded herself and her husband, or something else is going on.”

Taako looks at Merle.

“Cast Zone of Truth. I want to make sure this guy isn’t lying.”

“Gladly, because this is getting weird.”

Merle casts Zone of Truth, and they listen to the young elf say exactly everything he’d just said.

“Well shit. Now what?”

“Now we try and find your boy I suppose.”

_ ‘Seven years ago, you were born under some… Interesting circumstances. Your parents had no way of properly raising you, so they left you in a place where you could grow up properly and changed their memories a bit so they would treat you like their own.’ _

“The McDonald’s. They were very kind to me. But, who were my parents? My real parents. You said you’d help me find them. Please Lady Istus, I just want to see them.”

Taako reaps the elf’s soul on several accounts of necromancy and then takes everyone back home. After that he starts thinking of where in the Astral Plane Angus could be. He was comfortable there so he was definitely there. He just had to figure out where.

“Taako, we’ll find him and get some answers. You need to relax first.”

He looks up to find Magnus in front of him, holding him steady.

“Mags… What if that guy’s right? What if Angus is something else and he figures it out? He might not want to stay here anymore. He might go back to his real parents.”

“Taako, even if that did happen I know for a fact that he would come back to see us. He called you dad when we found him. He loves you.”

Taako nods and leans on Magnus, letting the human lead him over to the couch so they could sit.

“I just don’t want to lose him Magnus.”

“You won’t, I promise.”

_ ‘Oh Angus, you’ve seen them before.’ _

“Who are they? Please tell me.”

_ ‘Angus, you’re a smart boy. I know you can figure this out without my help. This is your real last job. Figure out the mystery. I’ll give you one hint. You’ve met them both in the past year. Now, your guardians are worried about you. It’s time for you to go home.’ _

“No wait! Please!”

Everyone looks up as Angus suddenly appears in the living room. Taako stands up and Angus gets up, rushing over to him and hugging him tightly as he sobs.

“Hey, it’s alright bubbeleh. I’m here.”

Taako picks up Angus and sits on the couch, rubbing his back and gently taking his glasses off to set them aside.

“I-It’s not fair!”

“What’s not fair?”

“I did all this be-because Istus said she w-would tell me who my real parents are!”

“Angus…”

“But she won’t tell me! She s-said I ha-have to figure it out myself!”

Angus shakes and sobs, holding onto Taako tightly.

“Angus, I need you to breathe ok? You’re gonna pass out if you keep this up. You’ve got every right to be upset but passing out because you’re crying too hard isn’t fun.”

Magnus reaches over to comfort Angus, ruffling his hair. After a few minutes Angus calms down but the crying doesn’t stop. By then everyone had moved to the other room to give the two of them space.

“I’m sorry I worried you dad. I just… I wanted to know.”

“Hey, I can’t fault you for that. I probably would’ve done the same thing if I were in your shoes. Actually I probably would have given up a while ago. You’re more resilient than I am.”

“No I’m not. I’m just a little boy.”

“You’re not just any little boy, you’re my little boy. So if you still want to know, I’ll help you figure out who your parents are.”

Angus shrugs and rubs his eyes.

“I’m not sure I want to know anymore.”

“Well how about you sleep on it. Get a good nap in after all that crying. You’ll feel better.”

“Don’t leave.”

“Never.”


	10. Figuring Out the Parents of the Boy Detective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus' family helps him figure out who his parents are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this chapter everyone. I took a few days off because forcing myself to put out chapters when I could barely force myself to write them wasn't doing me any good. But this chapter is out and hopefully the next one will be out in a day or two.

Lup is the first to speak up after everyone is settled.

“So who’s gonna come with me and give Istus a talking to?”

“No one Lup, because you’re not gonna do that.”

“Ko-”

“Look, I’d love to let you do this but something just doesn’t add up.”

“What do you mean?”

“Angus said he was working for Istus.”

“So? What’s your point.”

“What reason would she have to not tell Angus about his parents? She could just look at her knitting and tell him like it was nothing. Why all the extra crap to just break a seven year old’s heart?”

“That’s… That’s a good point. Especially since she seemed to like him.”

“We thought he was working with the Raven Queen because she gave him Raven… Which is another weird thing. I get it, a bunch of us work for her, but to give Angus an undead dog without telling anyone? That’s a bit odd.”

Taako looks at Angus and rubs his back. Things were only getting weirder around the kid. Maybe he didn’t want to know.

“Well we could ask.”

“Tried that, she wouldn’t give me even a cryptic answer. But for now let’s just drop it. After this Angus might not want to know. This was a major blow for him.”

Lup nods and reaches over to ruffle Angus’ hair. Taako sighs and leans on Magnus. He was tired too, but he wanted to be awake if Angus needed him.

“Taako, go lay down with Angus. You could use it.”

“I’m not gonna fall asleep now. I need to be awake.”

“I said go lay down, not go take a nap.”

“Make me Magnus.”

Magnus snorts and picks up Taako, getting up and going to their bedroom. Kravitz follows the two and gets the bed set up when they get there. Magnus lays down and holds Taako close while Kravitz climbs in on the other side of Taako and pulls the blankets up over the four of them.

“Now we’re all resting together. Was that so hard.”

“Shut up Maggie.”

“Yeah yeah.”

Kravitz chuckles and wraps an arm around Taako. Magnus reaches his arm around to Kravitz, making them both shiver at the temperature difference.

“We’re all worried about him Taako.”

“I know Kravitz. I just want to keep him close, protect him from the world for a while.”

“Well we can help with that. Can’t we Magnus?”

“Hell yeah we can. We’ll stay right here until he wakes up.”

Taako nods and closes his eyes, just resting with his family. He really did need it after a stressful… Well a stressful two days. In only two days their lives were on the crazy train again after a year of almost being normal. He'd almost missed it.

Taako looks down as he feels Angus shift, reaching up to rub his eyes. He reaches up and grabs the boys glasses, putting them on his face.

“You have a good nap pumpkin?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You hungry? I can make you something. Or if you just want something sweet I made your favorites.”

“Double chocolate chip cookies?”

“Of course. Who do you take me for?”

Angus giggles and Taako gets up, picking up Angus and taking him downstairs.

“Did everyone leave?”

“You were out for a while bubbeleh. But I'm sure the geek squad isn't far. If you want them here I bet they're at Lup's.”

“Maybe in a bit.”

“Alright, that's your call.”

Taako pulls some cookies out and warms them up a bit before giving them to Angus so they would be soft. Angus happily chows down on the cookies. Once he's had enough he leans on Taako.

“Dad, will you help me find out who my parents are? I just want to know.”

“Of course pumpkin. Want me to call the geek squad over now? I bet they've been talking this over.”

“Yeah. I know you guys can do it.”

“Alright, go wake up the other nerds.”

Taako watches Angus go as he picks up his stone and calls Lup, telling her to bring everyone over. Angus comes down with Magnus and Kravitz who sit on the couch. Taako sits with them as everyone else comes in. Everyone gets comfortable and then looks at Angus.

“I uh… I want to know who my real parents are. I want to know why they had to leave me and how they convinced the McDonald's that I'm their real son.”

“Well did Istus give you any clues? Or maybe the Raven Queen?”

“Istus said that I've met both my parents in the past year.”

Everyone takes a look at each other and then at Lucretia. She shakes her head.

“I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't Fisher or Junior. They're gone, remember?”

“Well we're the only one's he's met in the past year. So it would have to be one of us.”

Angus stands up.

“No, you’re not the only one’s I met. The day the Hunger came, I met Istus, the Raven Queen, and Pan. I talked to them for a good while.”

Taako looks at Angus and opens his mouth, then shuts it and thinks it over.

“Well if it wasn’t us then it had to be them. At least one of them.”

“Yeah, but who though?”

“Well the Raven Queen just gave you a dog to protect you when you asked for just a dog. So…”

Kravitz looks at Taako and then at Angus. He reaches over to him and changes his hand to its skeletal form. Without thinking Angus suddenly changes. He wasn’t completely skeletal, but he wasn’t all flesh either. Angus looks himself over and then changes back.

“Well uh… That answers that.”

“Yes it does, but did Istus say you’ve met one or both of your parents in the past year?” Kravitz lets his skin come back to his hand.

“She… She said I met  _ them _ . So I’ve met them both. Oh.” Angus sits on the floor and giggles a bit, then he gets up and hugs Taako. “Thanks dad.”

With that Angus disappears. He needed to go talk to a couple gods.


	11. Angus Finds His Parents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angus knows who his parents are now. Talking to them is the hard part though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am sorry this took so long. I wanted to make it a bit longer but I physically could not figure out how to do that so I did nothing with it. So please take it from me. I can't look at it anymore.

When Angus appears in the Astral Plane, he finds himself in front of the Raven Queen and Istus. He looks at them and they look back at him, not saying a word. The two gods had obviously been waiting for him, so what was he supposed to say now?

“I… I figured it out. I just… Why did you abandon me?”

The Raven Queen takes on a form that is smaller, but still hard to grasp. Gently she puts a hand or something close to it on Angus’s cheek.

**_‘Angus, we didn’t abandon you… You were stolen from us. By the time we’d found you it was too late. You were mortal and we had no way of changing you back. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Gods are made when they are needed, not born from the union of two older gods.’_ **

“But… Why didn’t you tell me? Or give me a sign? I knew I didn’t belong to that family. I was so different from them. I didn’t even look like them.”

**_‘They were the nearest human family that could keep you safe. When you disappeared from there we were so scared.’_ **

_ ‘Imagine our surprise though when Taako brought you here to keep you safe. Our baby boy was safe and would stay safe with us while a great Hunger tried to tear everything apart.’ _

“You could have told me then! Why didn’t you?”

Angus backs away from his parents, his mothers. The two of them look at each other and then back at Angus.

**_‘Only Pan knew what we had done, bringing you into this world. We still don’t know how to tell the others. How do we explain that we brought a new god into this world only to lose him and now he’s mortal?’_ **

“Then Pan knew… That’s why he looked at me like that… So what are you going to do? Let me be mortal and eventually die? Why the tests if that’s the case?”

_ ‘I wanted to see what kind of person you were becoming Angus. You weren’t supposed to know about those extra powers but you are a very smart boy. You figured them out right away.’ _

“You were protecting me.”

_ ‘Yes. I didn’t want you to come to us too soon.’ _

“So why now? Why tell me that I’d met you but not just come out and say it? That hurt! I cried and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know anymore!”

**_‘She was keeping a promise to me. I was worried that if you knew you would try and abuse those powers. I’m sorry.’_ **

Angus sits down and pulls his knees to his chest. He giggles a bit and rubs his eyes.

_ ‘Angus?’ _

“Three dads, two moms, two aunts, and three uncles. My family is so weird.”

_ ‘Does that mean you accept us as your parents?’ _

“You’re not my only parents, but yes.”

**_‘We would not dare to take away what you have with your fathers.’_ **

“So… Does that mean I can be a god again?”

_ ‘Not yet. We’ve decided we want you to grow up as a mortal. Once you turn eighteen then you decide what comes next.’ _

Angus nods and gets up, hugging his newfound parents.

“I’ll make sure to think it over a lot. It’s an important decision after all. Now I should get back.”

_ ‘Yes you should.’ _

Angus disappears and the two gods look at each other knowingly. They knew Angus had already made his decision.

**_‘Our son is something else.’_ **

_ ‘I believe he gets that from you.’ _

Angus appears in front of his family, the bigger portion of it. Immediately he hugs Taako and reaches for his other dad’s, happily being squished between the three of them.

“So did you figure it out pumpkin?”

“Yeah, Istus and the Raven Queen are my mom’s.”

There’s a pause as everyone looks at Angus and then Taako holds Angus tighter.

“Well none of us can really talk about how weird that is. Krav you’ve become the most normal out of all of us here. That’s honestly amazing.”

“So I can do the same stuff you can, but I can also do fate stuff. At least for now. I don’t know what my powers will be when I get older.”

“So you are going to be a god when you’re older? Natch, I get to raise a future god.”

Angus giggles and squeezes Taako a bit. Taako smiles and kisses his head.

“Alright, so major question. Why were you in the woods when I found you?”

“Well I got taken from my mom’s and they left me with a human family. I figured out they weren’t my parents and so I left to go find my real parents.”

“Makes sense. So you found them after all.”

“I found you too dad.”

“Alright, let’s not get too sappy here kid.”

Magnus snorts and puts his head on Taako’s shoulder.

“Don’t listen to him Ango, he loves it.”

“Hey! Don’t be lying to my boy like that!”

“Last I checked he’s our boy and I’m telling the truth.”

“No you’re not!”

“Oh really. Hey Merle!”

Taako quickly hands Angus over to Kravitz and turns to cover Magnus’s mouth. The two of them wrestle a bit before Taako cheats and casts levitate to get away from the human. Angus watches with a smile. This was what a family was supposed to be. He holds onto Kravitz happily and sneakily casts Dispel Magic. Magnus grins as he catches Taako and the wrestling begins again. Kravitz chuckles and goes over to the door, opening it.

“Alright you two, take the wrestling outside. No need to wreck the house.”

“Mags just needs to tell me he knows when to keep his mouth shut and we can stop!”

Angus creates a rift under them that leads outside. Once they’re outside he shuts it and then looks at Kravitz.

“Well that’s one way to do it Angus.”

Angus giggles and gently squirms down to go outside and watch his dad’s. This was his family.


End file.
